Arcosanti at Cordes Junction, AZ and Cosanti in Scottsdale, AZ

I woke up with a sore throat last Sunday, the day I wanted to visit Arcosanti.  I momentarily thought about not going but I'm glad I went.

Arcosanti is the baby of now 90-year-old architect Paolo Soleri.  Paolo completed a fellowship under Frank Lloyd Wright and fully embraced the concept of organic architecture.  He also had an affinity for working in nothing but a white Speedo, which I saw video clips of during my visit.  (Apparently this didn't play out well with Mrs. Wright, who was running Taliesin West after Frank died.) 

Before Frank Lloyd Wright's death, he and Paolo had a falling out - according to my tour guide at Arcosanti.  The tour guide said it was because of Frank's ego and Mrs. Wright complaining to her husband about Paolo's attire - or lack thereof.  (Paolo was tan and fit in the Speedo pictures I saw.  Still, trunks would've been a better option in my opinion!)

Arcosanti is based on an intriguing concept.  I agree with Paolo that our urban sprawl (of which Phoenix is a prime example!) makes us waste endless hours behind the wheel - often at a standstill - and isolates us from our neighbors and community centers.  (Many of the houses in Phoenix are in developments where everyone's backyard is surrounded by a stucco or block wall.  My friend who lives there has no idea who her neighbors are.)  His idea is to create dense space for living (although everyone has privacy), working, playing, and meeting.  This enhances the sense of community and preserves open space for all to enjoy.  It also promotes health as people walk to movies, shopping, work, etc.

It is possible to spend the night at Arcosanti, or longer.  My tour guide has lived/worked there for 1.5 years.  When I saw tricycles around and asked where the children are schooled, I expected to hear they were homeschooled.  They are not.  They actually attend school about 8 miles away.  (Someone from Arcosanti has to get them down to the end of the 2 mile lane, though.)

Arcosanti is funded by tours (where there is a suggested $10 donation) and the "world famous" Soleri bells.  These bells - either bronze or ceramic - are beautifully artful.  I wanted to buy one but wondered how my neighbors (and I, for that matter!) would feel about hearing deep bell/wind chime sounds day and night.  The bells varied greatly in price range - from $40 to thousands.  I wound up buying a small (maybe 2 by 4 inches) piece of decorative bronze.

This is a picture of the foundry.

I took a little hike after the tour and was treated to not only a great view of the property, but my first enounter with a javelina.  (I think this one was a baby.)  I wasn't sure what to do so we stared at each other a bit and left each other alone.


After a vegetarian lunch at Arcosanti, I decided to explore Cosanti back in Scottsdale.  It was about a 1.5 hour drive.  Cosanti is where Soleri lives with this family.  It is in a lovely, upscale residential area.  It is also another opportunity to buy bells.  Once again, I refrained....but certainly thought about it again.

Visitors are free to roam the property.  There are signs at various locations, however, that ask visitors to not proceed so as to respect the privacy of the residents.  It was an opportunity to spend some more time in the wonderful weather, peek into the foundry, and marvel at the unique architecture.  Another day well spent!

Stalking Frank...

Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) also designed this church in Phoenix. (I visited this after the Taliesin West visit and then lunch in Scottsdale.)

The next day, I was driving around Scottsdale again and came across this on Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard. It screams "FLW" and, since it is on the Blvd with his name, I assume it's designed by Frank.  (Not a bad picture considering it was taken while having to accelerate at a just-turned-green light!)

Taliesin West: Scottsdale, AZ

The great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) had two studios/schools - one in Spring Green, WI and the other in Scottsdale, AZ. These properties are known as Taliesin and Taliesin West, respectively.

I took the long tour at the Spring Green property a few years ago so was anxious to take a similar, 3-hour "Insider's Tour" of Taliesin West. It was worth the visit.

My friend and I were lucky enough to hear a presentation by an 89-year-old man who worked with FLW.  He obviously was fond of Wright and his mission.  He didn't mention anything related to what I knew about Wright from reading about him - that he was a complicated and controversial man.  (The stereotype of genius?)

Wright believed in organic architecture. According to Wikipedia,

Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated composition. Architects Gustav Stickley, Antoni Gaudi, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner, Claude Bragdon, Bruce Goff, Rudolf Steiner, Bruno Zevi, Hundertwasser, Imre Makovecz and most recently Anton Alberts, Nari Gandhi and Laurie Baker are all famous for their work with organic architecture.

Both Taliesins blend with their surroundings in such a way that I do see them as interrelated pieces in a painting.

Oatman, AZ

A few weeks before I headed to Vegas I told a friend that I was driving from Vegas to Phoenix. He told me to stop in Oatman, AZ. He gave me a brief overview - old gold mining town, wild burros roaming the streets (presumably left behind when the miners left), old hotel where you can eat and where there are thousands of dollar bills taped to every surface, etc.

I looked online and learned a little more about Oatman, including the fact the gold mines had re-opened because of the current high price of gold.  It certainly seemed like a good diversion for a long drive.

Lacking a GPS, I went the old-school route and printed MapQuest directions from Las Vegas to Oatman via Laughlin, NV because I wanted to avoid the Hoover Dam security lines (apparently started after 9/11) and construction.

The directions included:

• Merge onto US-93 S/US-95
• Merge onto US-95 S toward Searchlight/Laughlin/Needles
• Turn left onto NV-163-E (crossing into Arizona)
• NV-163 E becomes Hwy 163
• Hwy 163 becomes Bullhead Pkwy
• Turn left onto Silver Creek Rd/ CR-155 (Portions unpaved)

Notice how the last direction indicates portions unpaved? Portions seemingly indicates "part," right? How about the whole 10.7 miles to Oatman?!?! I guess I should have been suspect when I saw this sign.  Notice it's riddled with buckshot.  Nice.

Or maybe the "Flash Flood" warning signs should have been a clue to stop?  (At that sign, I looked up at the sky and concluded a flash flood was unlikely on a sunny, cloud-free day.) 

I also did some quick mental calculations...

OK, it's only around 70 degrees - not that hot.  And I have water.  Worse case scenario, even if I break down in the middle, I only have to walk out about 5.5 miles, and there's plenty of daylight left.  But what about any crazies I encounter?  I could go missing without a trace. 

Against my better judgement, I drove the whole way to Oatman...at about 20 miles an hour.  This is what the view was like from the wheel when the road was good (i.e. not too sandy).

And then I saw the Thumper Memorial.  The Thumper I know is a rabbit from Disney.  Assuming maybe this Thumper was a horse?

Needless to say, I was more than relieved when I rolled into Oatman just a little dusty but otherwise intact.

It didn't take long to see the burros.

A window seat at the fine Oatman Hotel for a late lunch was the opportunity to either count dollar bills or watch the burros.

Oatman was definitely worth the drive and visit.  But it was around 4pm and still a 3.5 hour drive to Phoenix through the desert so time to head out of Oatman on the historic Rt 66.